After passing the Fed's stress test in March, Wells Fargo set about appeasing shareholders -- especially the bank's largest, Warren Buffett, who increased his position by 10% over the past year. CEO John Stumpf quickly raised dividends and approved a stock repurchase plan to buy back an additional 200 million shares.

And with its $15 billion acquisition of Wachovia mostly digested, the nation's largest home lender is once again focusing on its core business: extending credit. In the fourth quarter alone, the bank supplied $210 billion in new loans to businesses and consumers. --P.N.